A reader of Control Engineering recently asked, “When I hear the sound of a ball screw that’s beginning to fail on a CNC milling center, I have to wonder: Isn’t there a better way to get that kind of linear movement? Are there other technologies?” We put that question to John Meyer at Siemens Motion Control Group, and he suggests linear …
For more than a decade now, the trend in manufacturing information technology has been to push increasing amounts of plant floor data up into the enterprise systems for better decision making by corporate executive and financial officers.
Control system software development is usually performed by a small group. However, techniques commonly used by large groups can also be used effectively by small groups. For example, if you are using a waterfall development method, or the SCRUM (www.scrumalliance.org) and Agile (www.agilealliance.org) methods, there …
Industrial networks options are many. If modifications are desired beyond the commercially available industrial network, suppliers offer commercial products that support protocols. In some cases, open source options may be a more viable option.
The challenges facing safe automation are reflected in the trends. The market wants overall, compatible solutions from the sensor to the actuator. Ethernet is gaining ground as a universal communication system. As a result, the worlds of information technology and automation are growing closer together, which brings new challenges not …